(Phoenix) Authorities in Arizona certified the results of the US midterm elections on Monday, confirming the victory of the Democrats against the Republicans, who had falsely claimed that the 2020 election had been rigged.
This certification now opens a period of five days provided for electoral challenges. Republican Kari Lake, who lost in the race for the post of governor, should file a request to contest the result, since she has been denouncing for several weeks the way in which the ballot took place.
Most election results were confirmed without hassle in the United States following the midterm elections, which took place in November, but Arizona was an exception to this rule. Several Republican-controlled counties were slow to certify the results, even though there was no evidence of voter fraud.
Cochise County in southeastern Arizona even missed the deadline, which was set for last week, prompting a judge to step in to force supervisors to certify results by the end of the day. end of day Monday.
“The election in Arizona went well,” said Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, before adding her signature to the certification. “But too often during the process, influential people spread misinformation that threatened to disenfranchise voters. »
PHOTO ROSS D. FRANKLIN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Arizona secretary of state was elected governor.
The certification, which applies statewide, was signed by Mr.me Hobbs, Republican Governor Doug Ducey, Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich and Chief Justice Robert Brutinel.
When this same group certified the results of the 2020 election, Mr. Ducey had to ignore a call from then-President Donald Trump, who was trying by all means at the time to convince his Republican allies to do so. join in his quest to overturn the results of the ballot that ousted him from the White House.
“It’s a responsibility I don’t take lightly,” Ducey said. It aims to recognize the votes that have been submitted by the voters of our beautiful state. »
Dissatisfied Republicans
Republicans have been denouncing for several weeks the fact that Mme Hobbs could play an important role in certifying her own victory as governor against Mme Lake — although it is common for people who work in the electoral field to keep their jobs while contesting an election for a higher office.
Mme Lake and his associates focused their criticism on problems with ballot printers that produced about 17,000 ballots that could not be counted on the spot and had to be counted in the Elections Department office.
Queues formed at some polling stations, fueling Republican suspicions that some of their supporters were unable to vote, although there is no evidence this affected voters. results. County officials say everyone was able to vote and all legal ballots were counted.
Mme Hobbs intended to immediately petition the Maricopa County Superior Court to begin a statewide recount, as required by law, for three races decided by less than half a point. percentage. The race for attorney general was one of the tightest in state history, as Democrat Kris Mayes edged Republican Abe Hamadeh by just 510 votes out of 2.5 million votes cast.
Elections for the superintendent of public education and a legislative seat in suburban Phoenix will also be subject to a judicial recount, but the margins are much larger.
Arizona’s main races were won resoundingly by Democrats after Republicans nominated a slate of Trump-backed candidates who continued to support his false claims about the 2020 election.
In addition to M.me Hobbs and Mme Mayes, Democratic Senator Mark Kelly won re-election, and Democrat Adrian Fontes won the race for Secretary of State.